{"id":6135,"date":"2014-01-17T20:52:21","date_gmt":"2014-01-18T04:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/?p=6135"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:07:24","slug":"rcusdevotionals-the-abiding-presence-by-by-john-macduff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/?p=6135","title":{"rendered":"THE ABIDING PRESENCE by By John MacDuff"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus<\/i>, how He said,”<\/h2>\n

“Surely, I am with you always \u2014 even unto the end of the world!”<\/i><\/h2>\n

<\/i>\u2014 Matthew 28:20<\/a><\/h2>\n

<\/h1>\n

\"Peace-of-God[1]\"<\/p>\n

Such were “the words of Jesus” w<\/span>hen He was just about to ascend to Heaven. The mediatorial throne was in view \u2014 the harps of glory were sounding in His ears; but all His thoughts are on the pilgrim Church <\/i>He is to leave behind. His last <\/strong><\/p>\n

How faithfully did the Apostles, to whom this<\/span> <\/i>promise was first addressed, experience its reality! Hear the testimony of the beloved disciple who had once leaned on his Divine Master’s bosom \u2014 who “had heard, and seen, and looked upon Him.” That glorified bosom was now hidden from his sight; but does he speak of an absent Lord, and of His fellowship only among the holy <\/span>memories <\/i>of the past? No! with rejoicing emphasis he can exclaim, “Truly our fellowship <\/span>is<\/i> with <\/span>Jesus Christ!”<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

words and <\/i>benedictions are for them<\/i>. “I go,” He seems to say, “to Heaven, to My purchased crown \u2014 to the fellowship of angels \u2014 to the presence of My Father; but, nevertheless, surely <\/i>I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amid so much that is fleeting here \u2014 how the heart clings to this assurance of the abiding presence of the Savior! <\/i>Our best earthly friends<\/i> \u2014 a few weeks may estrange them! But centuries have rolled on \u2014 Christ is still the same! How blessed to think that if I am indeed a child of God, there is not the lonely instant I am without His guardianship! When the beams of the morning <\/i>visit my chamber \u2014 the brighter beams of a brighter Sun are shining upon me. When the shadows of evening <\/i>are gathering around, “it is not night, if He, the unsetting ‘Sun of my soul,’ is near!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

His is no fitful <\/i>companionship \u2014 present in prosperity<\/i> \u2014 but gone in adversity<\/i>. He never changes. He is always <\/i>the same \u2014 in sickness and solitude, in joy and in sorrow, in life and in death! Not more faithfully did the pillar-cloud <\/i>and column of fire <\/i>of old precede Israel, until the last murmuring ripple of Jordan fell on their ears on the shores of Canaan \u2014 than does the presence and love of Jesus abide with His people! Has His word of promise <\/i>ever proved false? Let the great cloud of witnesses now in glory testify. “Not<\/i> one thing<\/i> has failed of all that the Lord our God has spoken!” This<\/i> “word of the Lord is tried!”, “having loved His own, who were in the world \u2014 He loved them unto the end!”<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Believer! are you troubled <\/i>and tempted?<\/i> Do dark providences <\/i>and severe afflictions <\/i>seem to belie the truth and reality of this gracious assurance? Are you ready, with Gideon, to say, “If the Lord is indeed with us \u2014 then why has all this befallen us?” Be assured He has some faithful end <\/i>in view. By the removal of prized and cherished earthly props and refuges \u2014 He would unfold more of His own tenderness. Amid the wreck and ruin of earthly <\/i>joys, which, it may be, the grave <\/i>has hidden from your sight \u2014 One nearer, dearer, tenderer still, would have you say of Himself, “The Lord lives<\/i>! Blessed be my Rock \u2014 and let the God of my salvation be exalted!” “Thanks be to God, who always<\/i> makes us to triumph in Christ.” Yes! and never more so than when, stripped of all competing objects of creature affection \u2014 we are left, like the disciples on the mount, with “Jesus only!”<\/i> “These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace.<\/i>“<\/strong><\/p>\n

By John MacDuff, 1858<\/strong><\/p>\n

#RCUSdevotionals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said,” “Surely, I am with you always \u2014 even unto the end of the world!” \u2014 Matthew 28:20 Such were “the words of Jesus” when He was just about to ascend to Heaven. The mediatorial throne was in view \u2014 the harps of glory were sounding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":6391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,6,4],"tags":[16,73,41,18,95,661,650,89,17,12],"class_list":{"0":"post-6135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-love","8":"category-reflection","9":"category-scripture","10":"tag-christ","11":"tag-fear-of-the-lord","12":"tag-grace","13":"tag-gratitude","14":"tag-jesus-christ","15":"tag-love","16":"tag-peace","17":"tag-promise","18":"tag-salvation","19":"tag-truth","20":"czr-hentry"},"wppr_data":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hebrews_2.8-9.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sUY9-1AX","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6135"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6518,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135\/revisions\/6518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblefreak.org\/words\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}